Heart of Youth, Heart for the Dragon
by Pete the Rock
Summary: Away from the halidom of her adopted home, Nowi makes her quest to protect a Pokémon Trainer and his Pikachu.
1. And Nowi, She's Gone

Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon or Fire Emblem.

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 _ **Heart of Youth, Heart for the Dragon**_

 _Chapter 1: And Nowi, She's Gone_

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A countryside village seemed hard at work for an upcoming event. Villagers began setting up stands, ribbons strung among the roadsides and children frolic in their playtime. "It's been a long time since we had something to celebrate," one man huffed to a woman, both wearing tattered garbs of pale color.

"I know, dear," she believed. "Celebrating the freedom from the country of Plegia and the death of that Mad King... It didn't need to be so bittersweet." The man lofted a nod as he shot a look to a castle overlooking the village.

"I still remember the black drapes over the windows, and someone saying that the exalt had been executed by Gangrel. That dasdard wanted to kill every man, woman and child for himself." Another man came to the conversation with his take on the events.

"I heard that even Gangrel's soldiers chanted Exalt Emmeryn's name after her death," he added. "A lot of Plegians knew Gangrel went too far in his acts against the Ylissian people and the halidom. Our lord couldn't let Gangrel live after his acts against us." The people continued to set their lands for the festivities in the next few days. On the roof of the castle was a green-haired ponytailed girl with pointy ears. She wore a scaly green/white brassiere under a navy blue cape and a scaly green miniskirt. She also wore a pink garter-belt attached to pink stockings mostly covered by thigh-high black boots. Lastly were her black gloves that only reached her wrists. She smiled as she saw the village being decorated. She stood alone by the side of the castle's roof but not for long.

"Enjoying the view, Nowi?" asked another woman. The green-haired turned around to find a blue-haired woman wearing a blue shirt and pants. She also wore a tiara in her hair as did the green-haired, who wore it over her forehead.

"Marth?" the green-haired identified. Marth came over to Nowi and joined her side.

"Sorry for disturbing you. There was a lot of noise coming from Lord Chrom's room." She glanced away, her thought seemingly bothered by the Lord's action behind close doors. 'So that's when I was created.' Nowi admired the view from the castle's roof.

"Ylisse's first annual independence from Plegia… I do wish it wasn't at Emmeryn's expense."

"As do I. Her death was a barbaric act from a coward like Gangrel. May his name be exhumed from this land's history." Nowi stepped away from the edge, a plan on her mind.

"I'm gonna head down to the village and see if they need any help." Marth wasn't sure about Nowi visiting the village in the midst of preparing for a celebration.

"Aren't you worried that those villagers may take advantage of a manakete like yourself?"

"Nah, they seem at ease. Besides, what could go wrong?" Nowi entered the castle, only to come out through the front doors. Within a few minutes, Nowi entered the village, eying the people setting up for the event upcoming. Some of the villagers saw Nowi, remembering her aid in the war against Plegia.

"Thunderesa!" one elderly villager gasped. "That's one of Exalt Chrom's Shepards!"

"Did you come to see our progress, Lady Nowi?" another man asked. Nowi huffed an adorable giggle to the question.

"Well, kinda," she laughed. "Anyone got food for me to try?" One woman turned her head from her stand to answer.

"Not quite," she denied politely. "Besides, wouldn't that spoil your appetite?" Nowi itched her innocent face, not shy about desiring a snack.

"I wouldn't mind waiting." That's when Nowi caught something from the corner of her eye. A series of flashes from beyond the village to the forest south. The flashes attained Nowi's attention. "What was that?" No one else saw flashes, thus they wondered what Nowi found.

"Did you see something, Shepard?" the elder man asked. Nowi learned that she was the only one who saw the flashes. She couldn't ignore something like this.

"Food sampling can wait. I gotta check out what's up in the woods." Before the villagers could ask, Nowi sprinted off. She entered the forest alone and began her search for the flashes. "I know I saw that light around here." She glanced left as she walked cautiously. Nothing… Her right found nothing as well. "Not even a fire around here. I couldn't imagine something like this." As she toured the forest, something lurked around the trees. A blackened and decrepit hand palmed the bark of a tree. Peeling skin softly gripped the bark with an eerie groan. Nowi's pointy ears picked up the groans. To the manakete, sounds of trouble were from nearby. "I don't like that sound." She turned around, seeing dark gray people with glowing red eyes. They wore fatigues and held swords and spears. Nowi concluded her danger. "Gods, why didn't I bring Robin or Gregor with me?! Risen!" The gray men waddled toward Nowi who made steps backwards in retreating. Another gray man in a tattered robe and pointy hat also showed up, holding a book. "I hate Mages, even as Risen! They're the worstest!" She spun around and did the only option she had at the time: run away. She headed back to the village, perhaps to warn those about the danger from the woods. The option became futile as muscular Risen holding axes blocked her path. More Risen appeared and surrounded the manakete. With one path open, Nowi took her chance. As she ran in that direction, a fluctuation of air rippled. Nowi stopped short, curious to what she saw. "Okay, what is _that_?!" Her shriek told the Risen where to find Nowi. "Gods, help me!" In her panic, she ran right at the ripple and vanished. Risen sword wielders chased when the ripple became still. They stopped after passing the spot Nowi vanished. All the Risen did was stand around, not knowing what to do.

Time passed. White became the sight before it dimmed to black. Different noises, none familiar to the ears echoed in whoever had them. Eyes soon opened, finding a pair of brown puppies with fur covering their faces, prairie dogs with red eyes and green caterpillars with leaves as a hood. "What in the..." a voice groaned. The disoriented was Nowi as she started coming around. The different creatures peaked her interest as she arose to a seat. "What in Ylisse are you?" A prairie dog barked a little as another came forward with a pear. To Nowi, it was an offering. "For me?" The caterpillar nodded, allowing Nowi to bite in the pear. Her eyes lit up, a taste of rejuvenation. "Whoa! Suddenly, I'm feeling better. I guess after being chased by Risen, I need something like this to help me." These creatures blinked at Nowi's little word of Risen. She dug in her pockets, pulling out two round silver stones, one having huge cracks on it while the other looked brand new. She looked back at the creatures who stared at the stones. Before Nowi could explain the stones, a gray dove entered from the air. It beaked in a sense of fear. Nowi stood, putting the clean stone back in her pocket. The dove landed and pointed its wing ahead. Instead of asking, Nowi followed the direction the dove pointed to, the other creatures following. A short time later, the dove passed Nowi and hid behind bushes. "Is there-" The dove swiftly lifted its wing over its beak to quiet the manakete. Kneeling, Nowi had to whisper to keep quiet. "Is there something you want to show me?" The dove pointed to the bushes. Digging through, Nowi found two humans with a cat by them. In white uniforms with matching red "R" emblems, a crimson redhead woman and an ice-violet man wrenched bolts to a steel drill of a machine. Along with the two humans was a white cat with a curled tail and gold oval charm stuck on its forehead. Nowi kept quiet while viewing the works of the three.

"Now that we're free from the boss' demands," the redhead started. "We can pursue Pikachu and forgo our debts!"

"And as such, it's back to our favorite traps to subdue the twerps," the ice-violet-haired man agreed. The cat had a problem with their deviancy.

"Okay, but do we need to dig holes like da past?" the cat mewed in concern. "Dat twerp used it against us before."

"Don't be such a scared cat Pokémon, Meowth," the redhead retorted. "We've learned from our mistakes more often than those twerps. Besides, we've got loads of time for James and myself to pinpoint their next destination." Nowi lowered her head, disappearing from the trio's sights if they did look in her direction. To her, those three were up to no good.

"I guess I have to do something to stop them," she whispered to the puppy and the caterpillar. She gripped the heavily cracked stone "You'll need to clear out. I'm going dragon for this." The warning allowed the creatures to run and find a safe spot. The creatures cleared, Nowi felt confident to use the stone in her hand. 'I know I've got a few more uses with the Dragon Stone before it breaks. I wonder how they'll react to seeing a dragon…' Nowi closed her eyes and wrapped her fingers around the stone. That's when petals of a red flower blossomed from the ground and cocooned Nowi. The trio applied the finishing touches to the machine. They threw down the tools as the machine stood on four rectangular feet with a drill located in the underbelly.

"Well, boys… One step closer to obtaining Pikachu," the redhead cheered.

"Indeed, Jessie!" the ice-violet-haired greeted. "The Earth Digger, Version Four! This baby will not only dig perfectly round holes, but also smooth out the dirt to make climbing out impossible!"

"Not to mention dat none of Pikachu's electricity can overload it!" added Meowth. Suddenly, the three heard and felt huge flaps of air whipping behind. They froze for a few seconds before turning around.

" _Really?!"_ sounded Nowi, but in a deeper boom of her voice. _"Let's see if it can stand up to a manakete's power!"_ The three spun to see a big green dragon flying above. The sight of the dragon freaked those on the ground to scream in fear.

"That's a…" stuttered Jessie. "That's a…."

"Dat's no Pokémon!" shrieked Meowth.

"It's a dragon!" the ice-violet-haired yelled. The dragon spat a blue fireball which struck the digging machine. KABOOM! The machine exploded into hundreds of pieces. The three escaped the blast as they used jet-packs. How they got them on so quickly was anyone's guess. The dragon wasted little time catching the trio, though impressed that they could take to the air.

" _So humans can learn to fly,"_ she huffed. _"Let me give you a boost!"_ She blew another fireball which tagged all three in a fiery explosion. The three launched out of the smoke, going faster than the jet-packs performed.

"This would've been a good time to have Wobbufett on hand," Jessie murmured.

"Speaking of, I didn't think actual dragons existed aside from the Dragon-Type Pokémon," the ice-violet-haired wondered.

"Crouching Raikou, hidden Flygon," Meowth punned. Now all three began to fade to the mountains.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" all three wailed to far reaches. The green dragon flew to land and curled itself. The flower bloom surrounded the dragon. It stood for a few seconds before it opened, revealing Nowi back to herself.

"Ha HA!" she cheered with her hands excitedly in the air. "I don't need Fredrick or Robin! I can fight by myself!" That's when she sensed the creatures from before looking on, scared out of their minds. She glanced back at them to reassure who helped out. "Don't worry. It's still me. I just used the power of my Dragon Stone." Slowly, the creatures came to Nowi. They hoped this girl wasn't going to use the power of said stone. Nowi petted the puppy, now gaining their trust. That's when the caterpillar buzzed everyone to a tiny black box. The box had the same "R" emblem like the two humans she cleared from the scene. Nowi came over to the box. "Weird box…" She pressed the "R" when a transparent screen emerged from the back of the box, startling the manakete. "Sorcery! I hate sorcery!" The screen suddenly popped other squares with labels on each of the eight. She read each box until there was one with the label "TARGET." Nowi feared that those three were on the hunt for something or someone. "This could be a problem. So do I press this square or what?" Giving it a touch, the squares cleared away for new squares, this time containing images. The pictures had yellow. Once again, Nowi touched a square. It grew, filling the screen. There was a yellow mouse with black tips on its ears and a lightning bolt for a tail. The image of the mouse made Nowi giggle. "Aw, it's so cute, I want one!" That's when she took a closer look, viewing another human. This grew on Nowi to learn more. As she tried to move the picture with her finger, another image tried to slide in, that one also having the same two but this photo, but now finding a raven-haired boy wearing a red baseball cap, white spring jacket with blue among the shoulders and denim trousers. Nowi's eyes fixated on the boy in the photo. "This… This boy..." Her body trembled to the sight of the boy. "I…" She snapped out of her delusion, wanting that boy as her goal. "I wanna protect him!" The creatures blinked at the announcement, wondering in unison who Nowi wanted to protect. No one in the halidom has any idea about their missing ally. Team Rocket didn't know who took out their machine. Now a boy and a mouse have no clue who's coming to help them.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Hungry for Attention

_Chapter 2: Hungry for Attention_

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It had been a year since Exalt Emmeryn's death and Mad King Gangrel's fall. Nowi couldn't wait for Ylisse's first anniversary but bad luck in forms of Risen brought her to a world of interesting creatures. Holding a box with a transparent window showing a picture of a boy and yellow mouse irked Nowi's curiosity. Seeing the dove, she called it down in hopes that it understood her request. "You think you can find these two?" she asked. The dove studied the boy in the picture before setting off. From above, the dove followed a dirt path, hoping to fulfill Nowi's quest. Before long, it heard voices.

"So that's why you wanted to go to the next town," sounded a boy. The dove stopped and listened.

"Right!" a young man assured. "I knew my evaluation was coming soon. Just imagine if I pass!" The dove picked up the location of the voices and flew in the direction. There, it found the boy and mouse Nowi wanted to find. Those two were accompanied by a green-haired teen wearing a waiter's uniform, including a bow tie. The other was a tanned violet-haired girl, her hair reaching her calves. She wore an ivory shirt with baggy sleeve and skinny white tights under a pink sash synched around her waist. In her hair was a green baby dragon with a shark fin in reverse and two tusks protruding from its mouth.

"You'll then be an S-Rank Connoisseur!" she cheered. "Man, that would be so awesome!" The green-haired softly laughed to the girl's premature praise.

"Well, it would be an honor to have an S-Ranking, Iris. I'm happy right now as A-Rank." The boy understood his friend's happiness with his current standing.

"Well, you're already at a better ranking than Burgundy," the boy compared. The dove determined the boy and flew back to advise Nowi. Once returned, it warned the manakete that the boy's discovery.

"You found him?" she guessed. The dove pointed to the path, cawing about their approach. "Okay, my bestest plan is near. Come on!" It appeared like a collision course would happen but Nowi broke short and hid behind trees. She came up with a plan for their arrival. "I'll lie here and pretend that I'm starve-" Her words stopped when her stomach began to growl. She didn't need to pretend anymore. "I guess I _am_ hungry. How about that?" She reset herself to finish her plan. "Anyway, when you see him coming, tell him. He'll come to me." The puppy and prairie dog bobbed to acknowledge the idea. Nowi set herself by a tree out of sight from the road. The two prepared to run out and confront the humans. Soon enough, Iris and the boys appeared in sight.

"Knowing that Cilan invited us to this meeting since we're friends," she sneered while looking at the boy. "There's a buffet with Ash's name written on it. He'd probably wouldn't leave it even if all the food's been eaten." The boy, now believed as Ash, grew angst at the teasing.

"Iris, you know I'm not that bad!" he protested.

"It's alright," the green-haired, presumed as Cilan, giggled to the two. That's when the puppy and prairie dog bolted out according to Nowi's plan. "A Lillipup!"

"And a Patrat?" the girl identified the prairie dog. Patrat and Lillipup frantically pointed to the side where Nowi rested. Their cries concerned the trio.

"What's going on?" questioned Ash. Not understanding, he turned to the mouse. "Pikachu, get them to calm down and tell us what's wrong." The mouse nodded before leaping down. Using whatever language it squeaked, Pikachu got information about the problem, turning back to the humans as it pointed to the issue.

"Trouble, and it's coming from over there!" alerted Cilan. Pikachu and Lillipup led the humans around the tree to find Nowi, unconscious. Actually, she's asleep.

"A girl?" Without hesitation, Ash knelt to examine the manakete by fingering her wrist. A pulse. "She's alive." That's when, for some reason, he palmed her stomach. This bothered Iris.

"Why are you feeling around her-" she began her questioning when Ash's head snapped back. He found what ailed the down girl.

"So that's what's wrong: she's starving." Iris and Cilan stood astounded with Ash's study of the new girl's crisis. "Cilan, you have leftovers?" Cilan dug into his bag and pulled out a bowl of stew.

"Here!" he offered. "It's still warm!" Ash took the stew and a spoon offered before going to stir Nowi.

"Hey, wake up!" Ash gently shook her shoulder which got her to open her eyes. At first sight, his smile almost made her eyes exit her head.

 _'It's… It's him!'_ she minded. ' _Gods, he looks so handsome! Someone find a bed to put me- Okay, Nowi… slow your thinking. I know he's good-looking for a human. Play the role and nothing else.'_ Stirring to keep it warm, Ash prepared himself to spoon-feed Nowi the stew.

"I can tell that you're hungry. This should help you back on your feet." Ash gave a spoonful of stew to Nowi who ate it, slurping the broth.

"Thank you..." she "weakly" praised. The taste of the broth almost broke her out of her act. _'Wow, this is really good! A heck of a lot better than bear meat from the hunting with Fredrick and Sully! Still, I can't let them know that I'm just fine."_ As Ash emptied the bowl to Nowi, Iris took notice to the green-haired girl's ears and huddling with the male green-haired.

"Hey, Cilan," she whispered. "Look at her ears! They're pointy!" The connoisseur examined the ears, also bothered with the shape of them.

"Yeah, but I don't see any marks that suggest plastic surgery," Cilan observed. "I'd say she was born with them." Soon enough, the bowl was bare. No more food, no more broth…

"That's all," Ash announced as he placed the spoon on the bowl.

"Thank you," Nowi greeted.

"No problem. I was gonna warm it up for when we got to the next town." He stood up before offering a hand to the manakete. "Can you stand?" Nowi glanced at the hand before reaching up.

 _'Let's see how his upper body holds up.'_ Ash lifted Nowi off the dirt to her feet. However, she scraped the dirt and used the momentum to fall in Ash's arms. Ash braced his back foot to absorb the impact.

"Gotcha!" Her momentum stopped, Nowi looked up at Ash who held onto her. Face heating beet red, she wrapped her arms around him to gain support and to admire the body he had. Pikachu and Patrat began to wonder if Nowi was okay to begin with. "Still weak, huh?" Nowi bobbed a slight nod to Ash who needed help from his friends. "Cilan, can you take my bag?"

"Sure, Ash," he replied as he helped remove his backpack. Free of that, Ash held Nowi up as he spun around and knelt. Nowi fell on Ash's back before he stood up, lifting Nowi. Pikachu leaped in Iris' arms. "Okay, we can still reach the next town by early evening."

"Right. I'm sure you need to rest your legs before that evaluation tomorrow." Iris became somewhat concerned about Ash having to carry Nowi despite just meeting.

"Are you sure you can hang on that girl?" she asked. A scoff told Iris that Ash had control over his grip.

"She's not heavy, and I've carried a Larvitar and a Hippopotas without much effort." Realizing his feats of prior, Iris backed away from further questioning.

"Never mind. Sorry I doubted your upper-body strength." The group restarted their stroll down the road where Ash chose to ask about Nowi.

"So who are you and what were you doing in the forest without a Pokémon?" Nowi wasn't sure what Ash tried to explain but asking for her name could help with a dialogue.

"Nowi," she named herself.

"Nowi? That's an interesting name. What about you being in these woods? Did you get lost?" Nowi didn't want to reveal her method to ending up with whom she wanted to protect.

"I don't know how I got here." Her claim didn't aid in how Ash could help someone who can turn dragon on a whim. To Cilan, he believed she suffered an accident.

"Disorientation?" he guessed. Iris glanced to Cilan, a thought of Nowi's ordeal occurring.

"Disorientation?" she repeated. "She's disoriented."

"That's where I'm leaning to. She probably got in an accident and tried to get her body to respond but it wouldn't and that's why she crashed." Ash wasn't so sure of Cilan's theory.

"I think she got scared," he guessed. "Perhaps running from a Ghost-Type Pokémon." Iris studied both situations, believing Ash over Cilan.

"Ash's theory sounds better than Cilan's," she judged. "I'd be running if it was an Ice-Type." Soon enough, the group came across the machine Team Rocket wanted to use to take Pikachu. "Whoa, what happened?" Cilan scanned the area with his eyes, finding the device Nowi used to find Ash. From his vantage point, he found the "R" emblem on said device.

"Looks like a contraption Team Rocket created to trap us and take Pikachu," he determined from the emblem.

"This forest must have some strong Pokémon to destroy their machine," Ash thought. "At least we don't have to deal with them today." Moving on, they continued for another hour, Ash holding on with all his stamina. At last, they found a town with the sun on its way down.

"We made it!" cheered Iris. The creatures cheered their arrival to the new town. Nowi tapped on Ash's shoulder. Turning, Ash believed Nowi wanted to get off his back.

"Want down?" A nod allowed Ash to kneel and have Nowi step off. Free from the piggyback ride, Ash stretched his arms to regain feeling as Nowi knelt to see Pikachu and the other creature. She pet both, cries of delight echoing slightly from the two.

"Axew has taken a liking to you," Iris implied. Nowi listened, now notified of the dragon's name.

"So you're Axew, huh?" she questioned. Axew nodded to the asked. Ash seemed blessed for Pikachu and Axew to have a new friend.

"Looks like Nowi would be great around plenty of Pokémon," he pondered. Nowi blinked before turning back to Ash.

"Wait, what are they called? They're not Pikachu and Axew?" Cilan came forward to clarify her confusion.

"Well, they are called Pikachu and Axew," he offered. "They're two of over hundreds of Pokémon all over the world." Nowi's awe told the three she figured the identities.

"Got it." Nowi risen back to her feet and faced Ash, grabbing the bill of his cap. "Does your lid come off? It's a weird helmet." Before Ash could answer, Nowi removed his cap. Ash started to reach but stopped as Nowi gave his cap an investigation. "So it does… Nice." She now turned back to Ash. "Anyway, thanks for carrying me while I was unable to move."

"No problem," Ash replied with a chuckle. "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters." Either from his reply or unable to withdraw any emotion, Nowi pressed herself on Ash, her chest to his. This startled the others around.

"Wha- What is she doing to Ash?" a quaking Iris wondered. Nowi couldn't pretend to like Ash after he fed her and carried her from the woods.

 _'Even if I need to help Chrom, Robin, Lissa, Fredrick and everyone else in Ylisse,'_ she minded. _'I don't want to just protect this boy. I want to love him… snuggle with him… cook for him…'_ She lifted her upper body upward and leaned to Ash's face. Mere inches from Ash's lips, Iris snagged Nowi's shoulder.

"Not so fast, missy!" she denied as she pulled Nowi away. The manakete whined from the refusal. "I've got an idea to make yourself presentable. We'll get some new clothes." Nowi blinked to the idea of a new wardrobe.

"Is there a problem with what I'm wearing now?"

"Yeah, it's rather revealing," Cilan pointed out. "It comes off as too spicy for everyone around." The situations gave Ash a strategy.

"Okay, here's how we'll play it out," Ash spoke up. "Iris can take Nowi for some clothes shopping, Cilan can notify the Connoisseur Committee that he's here for his evaluation, and I'll head to the Pokémon Center to have my Pokémon checked out." The plan had even Iris agreeing for how it would play out.

"Now that's what someone smart would play out," she sneered. "Are you trying to prove that your _not_ a little kid?" Ash flinched to the tease.

"Come on, Iris! I'm not that bad! I just felt easy to have you help Nowi with appropriate wear while we do our errands."

"It's a simple recipe but an effective one at best," he determined. "So, we'll all meet back at the Pokémon Center before nightfall." Ash and the girls didn't waste a second to acknowledge the plan and accept.

"Okay!" they responded. On that, the girls, Ash and Pikachu, and Cilan all split in different directions. Five minutes passed when Iris and Nowi found a woman's clothing store before entering.

"Say, Iris?" the manakete called. "How much do you know Ash?" It did make sense for her to ask about the boy she hung around. Iris dug in her memory bank to have her own evaluation on Ash.

"Well, he's very passionate about Pokémon to a fault," she tried to describe. "It doesn't matter if the Pokémon are his own, another trainer's or even wild. He wants to make sure everything's okay before moving on." Nowi awed the lengths Ash would traverse to make sure peace was in order.

"Is that why you're with him?" The question made Iris jump in surprise. She quickly turned around, a nervous laugh spilling betwixt her lips.

"My reasons are confidential." Nowi's questions stopped when Iris found an emerald green blouse with the string shoulder straps. Seeing the blouse and its color, Nowi wondered if it would fit. "This might work. Let's check the fitting room." After getting some clothes, Iris escorted Nowi to a fitting room.

"So you want me to try these on?"

"Yeah, go and see which ones you like. That way, you won't be so revealing." Taking the offer, Nowi closed the door to the narrow fitting room. She lifted the blouse and smiled.

"I'll wait to kiss him later tonight." She began to change behind the closed door. What may be her choices to wear for Ash?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. A Manakete's Lullaby

_Chapter 3: A Manakete's Lullaby_

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Ash waited in a center with other people and Pokémon. He had a few more than Pikachu. With him was a green snake with tiny arms and legs with a leaf for a tail, a sky blue sea otter with a white head and a seashell over its abdomen, an orange pig that looked like he wore a black muscular leotard, a gray game bird with brown spots to the underbelly, and a green/yellow mantis-like creature with a leaf as a hood and hooks for hands. His group, which added the manakete who vowed to protect the trainer, split up to attend errands. Iris took Nowi to go clothes shopping while Cilan registered for at a convention being held tomorrow. Each Pokémon took bites of pellets in separate bowls. As they settled in, the girls entered. "Ash?!" called Iris. Ash and the Pokémon turned to the girls, including Nowi's new wardrobe. She wore a yellow button-down t-shirt and matching skirt which was a little longer than what she originally wore.

"What do you think?" she asked. "I can't believe there are clothes which I don't need to drape over my head and my ears."

"Yeah, they look great on you," Ash complimented as he and the Pokémon came to see Nowi. She saw the extra company with Ash and Pikachu, getting a little nervous. The sea otter leaped to Nowi who caught the critter with hearts in its eyes. Ash needed to get the sea otter under control. "Oshawott, knock it off!" The otter whined about its behavior. It hopped down, upset with being torn from enjoying Nowi's company. Nowi now scoped the other Pokémon.

"So who are these guys?" Ash came to Nowi's side to help identify the Pokémon, starting with the pig.

"That's Pignite and next to him is Snivy." Pignite punched the air and the snake, Snivy, closed its eyes. Now the identity of the game bird. "That's Unfezant and the last is Leavanny." The mantis-like Pokémon and Unfezant nodded in greeting the manakete.

"And they're all yours?"

"Yep!" Nowi knelt to meet the rest of the Pokémon.

"Nice to meet you all!" The Pokémon welcomed Nowi as a friend to have around. Cilan returned from his destination with some news.

"I'm back," he announced. Thinking he had been evaluated, Iris got anxious to know the result.

"Hey, did you pass?" she asked. Cilan chuckled at the eager tanned girl.

"The evaluation's tomorrow. I registered for it and guess who else showed up?" Pained faces colored Iris and Ash's mugs.

"Miss I-believe-I'm-better-than-Cilan Connoisseuse! You'd think with her ranking that she'd know her place by now?" More nervous laughter from Cilan confirmed Iris' suspicion.

"Well, she's as determined as ever to say she's higher than me." Not familiar with the long-winded name, Nowi turned to Ash in hopes of understanding.

"Does Cilan have a rival?" she wondered.

"We all do," Ash replied. "Cilan's rival is Burgundy. She and Cilan are Connoisseurs at different ranks: Cilan's A-ranked and Burgundy's C-ranked." Nowi seemed humored at the group's issues.

"And I thought the rivalry between Chrom and Vaike was hot. Now, it's commonplace?" Ash blinked to the names the green-haired girl.

"Uh, who?"

"Friends of mine. They're also rivals to each other." Cleared on some information, Cilan had an idea.

"Why don't I make dinner?" he offered. "Besides, those participating in the convention have to fast until their appointment." Ash and Nowi seemed confused with Cilan's recommendation.

"Fast?" repeated Ash.

"I've heard of going fast but..." Nowi fumbled to finish. A sigh came from Iris who would be more than willing to clarify Cilan's explanation.

"It means he can't eat until after he's evaluated," she explained. "Seriously, what little kids!" Nowi growled at Iris from her retort.

 _'If only you knew how old I_ really _am, Iris…'_ However, Ash placed a hand on her shoulder to ease her down.

"Don't let it go to your head, Nowi," he consoled. Nowi glanced to Ash, concerned about Iris' mocking to Ash as well. "Anyway, if you're not eating, it means more food for the rest of us."

"I agree. After that stew Ash fed me, I'm ready for more of your cooking." Cilan laughed more, now honored instead of feared.

"I'd be more than willing to do so, you two," he praised as he stepped to the kitchen. He made the food and whatever Ash and Nowi touched about half an hour later, it vanished. Iris and Cilan watched in awe and fear as plate and bowl after plate and bowl lost whatever was in or on them. To the two munchers, this became a contest.

"You're not eating me under the table, Ash!" Her challenger grinned, not slowing down in the slightest.

"I've yet to lose an eating contest to anyone!" he snickered. Iris could only hope to have something to nibble on, though the stacks of dishes chipped away at that wish.

"Seems we have two bottomless stomachs on display," Cilan scoffed. As the two continued their eating, a violet-haired girl in a suit similar to Cilan's except the vest was red.

"I wonder what C-Rank gourmet Cilan whipped up tonight?" she spoke from behind Cilan, spooking him.

"B-Burgundy!?" Ash and the girls turned to the new girl that came in.

"Who is she?" asked Nowi.

"That's Burgundy," Ash answered. Burgundy faced Cilan with a grin.

"Nervous about the evaluation, tomorrow?" she teased. Cilan straightened his face to fire a retort.

"Not at all," he denied. "But don't you think you're the one in trouble? You're still C-Rank and if you fail your evaluation, you could lose your Connoisseur's Badge and be disqualified as a Connoisseuse." The consequences didn't bother Burgundy, laughing off the warning.

"Alors! Those members of the committee know better than put me at C-Rank when I deserve S-Rank… and you should, too!" The discussion wore on Iris, and she couldn't keep silent about it.

"Typical of Burgundy," she sighed. "Behaving like a kid..." Burgundy heard the tanned girl's complaint, her attention averted.

"You stay out of this discussion! This is between me and Cilan!" That's when she began having thoughts of Iris traveling around with the boys, all while Nowi's been left in the dark. "Now that I think about it, why do you travel with Ash a whole lot?" Iris stepped back from Burgundy's approach. This even interested Nowi, hoping to know the history.

"What brought this up? Beside, my reasons are my own!"

"Ah bon… You just want others around to call kids so that you don't feel so bad!" Iris growled at Burgundy who scoffed.

"Excuse me?!" Nowi watched the argument between the three as Pikachu joined the green-haired manakete.

"I want to see you squirm while away from that boy. To do so, I'll have you two with me." Cilan wasn't sure about Burgundy's idea, let alone leaving Ash by himself.

"Don't you think you need to mind your own self?" he pointed out. "Without proper rest, you run risk of alertness to your performance." Not accepting the warning, Burgundy waived Cilan off as Nowi approached from the side with Pikachu on her shoulder. She tapped Cilan on his back.

"Don't worry," she whispered. Cilan didn't turn his head but listened. "I'll watch Ash tonight." Feeling satisfied, Cilan felt confident to proceed in the act.

"Well, if that's how you want to play this out, I'll go with you to your room tonight." Iris jumped at Cilan's agreement.

"Cilan, you can't be serious!" she freaked. To Burgundy, Iris revealed she had feelings for Ash.

"So you do care for the trainer with incompatible Pokémon like his Pikachu," she taunted. Pikachu growled to Burgundy's distaste. Iris snarled heavily to the violet-haired's rebuttal.

"I do _not!_ " Realizing her own volume, Iris settled down. "If you think I can't stand a day without that little kid, I can prove you wrong!"

"Then it's settled!" Nowi turned back to Ash, a wink to assure her company. "So Ash, you think you can handle one night alone?"

"Of course I can," he sneered. "After all, I have my 'incompatible' Pikachu with me… unless you want him to join you as well." Now Burgundy backtracked. She didn't like Pikachu, less any of Ash's Pokémon.

"Non, non, non! You can keep your smelly rat!" With that reply, she stormed off and allowed the rest to calm down.

"Like I said, she's a kid," Iris groaned. Axew agreed as it finally came out from Burgundy's rant.

"I'm surprised she didn't see me," Nowi noted. Iris turned around to Nowi to reassure her the purpose.

"Don't worry about her. Burgundy's attention is mainly on Cilan. You're okay." After supper, Ash cleaned the dishes before he dressed down to a teal t-shirt and shorts before he and Nowi entered a room with two bunk beds and drawer. Nowi came over to one of the beds and laid down on it. The spring-based mattress felt new to the manakete.

"What's up with these beds?"

"What, never been on a mattress before?" joked Ash. "Well, it's patted with different layers of cotton and helps support a person's back with spring coils within." Nowi tested the bed, lying on it. Instantly, she felt the difference.

"Huh? It's always straw or rocky nests or straw beds where I'm from. This is… rather comfortable." Ash blinked, Nowi's mentioning of nests catching his query.

"You slept in nests?" Rather than recalling her words, Nowi briefed her reasoning.

"When I was little, my mother had me in nests before I was kidnapped by evil soldiers then rescued by a former member and helped fight for someone I trusted." The explanation didn't clear a lot with Ash, but a mental picture started to form of seeing a baby Nowi snuggled in a nest, looking comfortable wrapped up. He dimmed the lights before lifting the blankets.

"I, uh… see. Well, goodnight!" Ash tucked himself in bed and near his feet, Pikachu curled up. Both fell instantly to sleep. Nowi saw the trainer, remembering that he helped her in her "time of need." The lights may have turned off above the three, but Nowi wasn't going to sleep… at least in the bed she laid on a moment ago. Instead, she got up and crawled in Ash's. Her boots were off as she lifted the blankets and crawled in. Ash suddenly woke to the smooth, sweat-covered skin of Nowi's legs.

"Sorry. Is it alright if I sing a lullaby to you?" The request had Pikachu look up just to accept a song from their new friend. "Okay, Pikachu." With a deep breath, Nowi began to sing. The language she used to sing wasn't familiar, one not even a Pokémon would know. Despite struggling to know the origin of Nowi's tongue, the tone felt soothing as if both the trainer and Pokémon were babies who closed their eyes to the cozening rhythm. Her song ended and both Ash and Pikachu were lights out. A smile formed from Ash's face, a dream of comfort taken place. The smile made Nowi smile before she reached over and kissed the unsuspecting boy on those smiling lips. Then she fell asleep herself, her fingers combing through his hair. "Good night… Ash." The rest of the night was uneventful in the Pokémon Center.

...But back in Ylisse Castle the next morning was of panic. A young blue-haired man in a sleeveless black shirt and armored leggings came out to the foyer seeing people looking frantically around. Wearing a single shoulder plate attached to a white cape, he viewed many of the people searching for something.

"Not something I wanted to wake up to," he mulled as a silver-haired young woman wearing a matching gown joined his side. She wore two white feathers in her long and flowing hair.

"Chrom, darling," she greeted. "What seems to be the matter?"

"That's what I like to know, Sumia." A brunette man in heavy armor and a redhead man in fatigues came forward to meet Chrom and Sumia.

"Good morning, milord, milady," the brunette welcomed. Chrom bowed to meeting the two.

"Fredrick, what's going on that everyone's panicking?" Instead of answering himself, he turned to the redhead.

"Gregor?" The called gulped to guessing Chrom's reaction.

"It's Nowi!" he reported with a Russian accent. "She gone missing!" Chrom and Sumia's eyes lit up, as did Marth's. "Gregor failed in watching Nowi!" Marth came forward to clarify the situation, though it would bring more panic.

"Milord, I was the last to see her morning of yester," she confessed. "She left for the village and I haven't seen her since." Sumia and the men turned to the mysterious young woman. It didn't feel right for Chrom.

"You were able to stop an assassination plot on Emmeryn in here, yet you didn't see Nowi leaving us?" he called the woman out.

"Circumstances changed from the foiled assassination plot… so the future's been altered in some senses." Sumia studied her words, thinking she meant the truth.

"I believe you, Hero-King," she forgave. Marth sighed in relief.

 _'Thank you, mother.'_ Chrom had to take control of the situation.

"Very well," he retained the floor. "Marth, you've done plenty from saving Lissa when the Risen first appeared to Gangrel's fall. Something like this won't change my opinion." Weight continued to lift from Marth's shoulders, forgiveness aplenty to her.

 _'Father…'_ That's when Chrom plotted a method to find Nowi.

"If I know my history, taguels have acute sense of smell. I'll have Panne use her nose to find our manakete." Gregor felt urged to help find Nowi as well.

"Nowi is Gregor's responsibility!" he spoke up. "Gregor shoud join in searching." Chrom nodded, remembering the promise. One more wanted to team up and find Nowi on her guilt.

"Fa- Milord, let me join, too," she voiced, nearly blowing her secret. "As I stated, I was the last to see her." Catching the slip, Sumia pondered upon her identity.

"Marth, did you say 'father?'" she questioned. Marth shook her head in denial.

"I was going to say the wrong word, not to offend either of you." Chrom nodded to her claim.

"Okay, but please be vigilant," he addressed. She and Gregor nodded to the promise before leaving. Who knows what the two will find on their way to rescue Nowi.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Taguel, You're It!

_Chapter 4: Taguel, You're It!_

* * *

Their manakete hadn't been seen since she left the castle to check the village. On Lord Chrom's advice, Marth and Gregor entered the village with a woman as tall as the redhead man. The brunette woman had rabbit ears poking out of her hair. Her onyx breastplate covered her chest and torso while fur covered her private area and she wore armor around her legs, except for her bare feet. Little did they know what Nowi faced before disappearing. In the village, they received a lead about Nowi's last whereabouts taking them to the forest before. To Marth, her apparent father discovered someone in the forest. "So this is where Chrom, Lissa and Fredrick found their tactician," she realized. The rabbit-eared woman began to believe Marth's theory.

"Emmeryn's brother's finding was indeed a blessing, especially in the war against Plegia," she acknowledged. "I believe he and Anna may provide the best assist should other nations challenge Ylisse." Marth nodded, believing the other woman.

"No question, Panne. I do wish I had someone help me when Grima awakened back in my time." Gregor returned to the women, his sword having dust on it.

"Risen in trees," he reported as he sheathed his sword. "Nothing Gregor cannot handle. Any scent on Nowi, Panne?" A pained huff from Panne wasn't pleasing.

"Try not to rush me, man-spawn," she groaned. "I'd have an easier time sniffing out a carrot patch than manaketes." Panne led the way with Marth criticizing Gregor's impatience.

"I understand your concern for Nowi," she comforted. "But it's ill-advised to push someone to find what we're looking for." Gregor mulled to the soft scold.

"Gregor know but Gregor cannot feel but sickness not knowing if Nowi is alive or dead," he expressed. Marth nodded, understanding his worry. Panne continued to lead the group when she stopped near the trees where a fluctuation emerged before.

"Her trail ends here," she discovered. Gregor studied the spot, adding the Risen who he encountered.

"Risen were weak, though they came by number. Nowi could battle with two Dragon Stone, that much Gregor know." The women looked around for any sign of struggle.

"Something doesn't seem right," Marth pondered. "I don't see blood anywhere." Panne resumed sniffing around when she reached out, her hand phasing through a distortion. Marth and Gregor saw it, a hint of where Nowi may have disappeared to.

"What's this?" she wondered. Even Marth wasn't sure of the discovery.

"I wanna say a rift or a tear like the one I came through to save Lissa. Could Nowi have escaped using this?" To Gregor, if the Risen cornered her here, this distortion may have been her only method to flee.

"Nowi's age bring great wisdom," he studied. "Her entering here may be ticket to find her." With this finding, Panne now questioned Marth's future from wince she came."

"You were able to preserve the Exalt's life to cause a distortion in time," she suspected. "Was not knowing Nowi's fate part of this paradox?" Marth had been questioned by Chrom about her claims of the future in which Emmeryn's life was on borrowed time may have resulted in changes to the future. Even now, she had no method of determining the fate of their changeling.

"It may be," she briefed. "If Nowi did cross, we should find her." Without hesitation, Marth entered the rift before Gregor and lastly Panne. On the other side, the three landed softly on the ground where Nowi's first encounters saw them. Marth and Gregor panned the area, not finding too much of a difference from their place.

"Gregor not finding difference from Ylisse," he expressed. Panne took a whiff, picking up a familiar odor.

"That smell…" she picked up. "Our manakete was here." To the other two, they're on the right track.

"The gods want us to find her, no doubt," Marth murmured. "Nowi… please be safe." Overhearing the blue-haired woman was Patrat and Lillipup. The Pokémon called to the trio of rescuers, which Marth looked down. Needless to say, she became curious. "What in the world..?" Patrat barked profusely, pointing to the path where Nowi traveled with her new friends.

"Never seen these creatures around Ylisse. Though I believe they know something about our missing Shepard." The Pokémon led the three down the road where they found Team Rocket's destroyed machine. Gregor gulped at the size of what was a trap-maker.

"Boy, something not seen in Ylisse as well," he awed. "But no longer use. Whatever thing is, it kaput!" Panne's nose got a massive whiff at the cause.

"Nowi turned dragon and destroyed it. Her flame still smolders among the remains." This proved Nowi was there.

"So we must be closing in," Marth concluded before kneeling to Patrat and Lillipup. "Tell me, where did this dragon run off to?" Patrat pointed and Lillipup faced the same path which Ash and his friends helped out. "I see. Thank you." With the lead, Marth prepared to bring Nowi back to Ylisse.

"Lead the way, Legendary Hero-King." Marth nodded as she lead, her mind mulling over her apparent secret.

 _'Soon, everyone will know that I'm not the Hero-King, more the heir to the next Exalt after my father.'_ As they resumed their pursuit, their target joined Ash inside an arena where booths strewn the floor. A brunette Connoisseuse wearing a beige version of Cilan's clothes petted Pikachu as Ash and Nowi watched.

"Remarkable!" the brunette awed while a man with faded brunette hair watched on, wearing all black. "You and Pikachu have the best chemistry I've seen in a long time. Your time with each other, not to mention the firmness of Pikachu's cheeks, are indeed homages to my findings." Pikachu squeaked happily to the compliment.

"Thank you," Ash smiled. Both stood up where the Connoisseuse and Ash shook hands.

"There's nothing more than saying that I wish you two stay together for the rest of your days." Ash chuckled to the appreciation.

"Me and Pikachu, both." The other brunette worked on the clipboard, tallying by using a pencil on a clipped paper.

"Thank you, Ash!" he praised. "Her performance will go to the committee for her evaluation." Nowi came forward, eager to know the score the younger brunette received.

"Did she pass the test?" she asked. The elder chortled to Nowi's request.

"She has a few more trainers to evaluate before her results are concluded."

"Gotcha." Once Pikachu remounted on Ash's shoulder, they left the booth. "That's the fourth Connoisseur in an hour. So far, their evaluations have been the same regardless of Pokémon." Ash understood Nowi's boredom and repitition.

"I know how you feel," he consoled. "Still, each Connoisseur is different. I may come across one who may say that Unfezent is a better fit to Iris over me or her Excadrill in a bit of the other way around." Nowi took notice of Ash's explanation.

"So Connoisseurs are like snowflakes? No two are the same?"

"Pretty much." That's when Iris came around. She seemed upset as she returned to the two.

"There's no way I'm giving Emolga up!" she stammered. To Ash and Nowi, Iris' evaluation with her Connoisseur saw little connection between her and a black flying squirrel with yellow cheeks in her arms.

"Some sort of disagreement, Iris?" asked Nowi. Iris billowed a sigh from the evaluation.

"I've been evaluated by three Connoisseurs. Two of them saw me compatible with Axew and Excadrill… but the last one didn't see me and Emolga as a match!" Ash shrugged to how he could treat Iris' frustration.

"Someone may think your Emolga is irreplaceable in your party," Nowi offered hope.

"Yeah, I guess. At least I wasn't evaluated by Burgundy." Ash lofted a sigh, recalling past moments with the violet-haired.

"No doubt she'll berate Pokémon that aren't even with me like Palpitoad or Boldore," he listed. Nowi blinked at the newly-mentioned Pokémon.

"You have more?" she questioned.

"Yeah, but they're with Professor Juniper on the other side of the region… and I got more back home with Professor Oak." Nowi's eyes widened to what Ash raised.

"Any dragons?"

"One: my Gible." Iris gasped at the name of a Pokémon back where he lived.

"Gible, from the Sinnoh Region?" she guessed. Ash nodded. Suddenly…

"Burgundy, you're through!" a man bellowed. Everyone and their Pokémon turned to Burgundy being scolded by a gray-haired mustached man, also dressed like a Connoisseur in gold. "Not only did you disavow your rank where you're required to have a guide, you use your bias and passion to degrade trainers' Pokémon!" The rage coming from the man even drew the interest of Cilan at a booth with a girl holding a puff of white cotton with red eyes.

"I believe Burgundy's evaluation is over," Nowi shuttered. Burgundy wasn't letting her dismissal go without a fight.

"Yeah?!" she yelled. "I warned every Connoisseur that I'm far better than your so-called 'rank!' You call my evaluations bias?! Listen to you! It's not my fault these trainers can't find compatible Pokémon!" The man gave Burgundy the scariest face that even Nowi trembled. His murderous eyes was enough to freeze Burgundy in her place.

"Your badge!" Out of intimidation or denial, Burgundy hesitated to relinquish her badge. It was a gold circle with a red "C" in the middle.

"One day, Cilan," she murmured under her breath. "You will lose to me." Nevertheless, she bowed as she handed the badge to the man in question.

"This is the first time a Connoisseur, less a Connoisseuse, has been expelled from the Committee. And don't bother trying to ask back. You've been permanently banned." With Burgundy's former badge, the man walked off while leaving the violet-haired in tears.

"Little kids can't accomplish much when they act the part," Iris teased. Ash coughed a sigh to her mock.

"I've seen my fair share," he muttered. The sulking former Connoisseuse waddled pass Ash and the other girls who began to feel bad for her.

"Think we should cheer her up?" irked Nowi. Cilan finished his latest evaluation on the trainer. The outburst grew an interest to him that he felt distracted. His spotter, an elder brunette Connoisseuse, believed he needed a break after his string.

"Why don't you take 30 minutes to refresh yourself," she suggested.

"Yeah, thanks," he accepted before standing up to finally see Burgundy exit the building in front of a handful of trainers. To Cilan, Burgundy didn't learn any lesson. "No matter what I tell her, it's like her ears are connected straws: in one end, out the other." There's nothing the group felt they could do to aid Burgundy.

"She doesn't know what a problem is when it's in front of her face," Iris threw one more insult. No one noticed Pikachu's head turned. He saw someone which a squeak alerted the rest.

"Pikachu?" called Nowi. Seeing Pikachu facing a path, everyone turned to a pink-haired girl wearing a puffy yellow hat. She wore different hues of green in her clothing from her shirt and vest, skirt, knee-socks and boots. Iris cringed at the sight of her.

"Great… it's Georgia." Axew peeked out of Iris' hair but seeing Georgia forced it to retreat. Georgia came to the group, her mug reading disgust.

"If it isn't the wannabe Dragon-Type failure," she insulted. Iris growled at the mocking, her Axew joining as well.

"Let me guess, you're here to see how your Pokémon are evaluated, right?" Instead of words, Georgia leaned in, sniffing her like a dog. She took a whiff of Axew, but backed her head. Axew watched on, befuddled.

"It's not Axew I'm smelling… and I doubt you have another Dragon-Type, is that right?"

"That's nothing a little kid like you needs to know!" Rather than ask Iris again, Georgia turned to Cilan since she felt better asking him.

"It's not you, either?"

"I'm afraid none of us have any new Dragon-Type Pokémon, Georgia," he replied nervously. Regardless, Georgia did a quick nasal investigation.

"I believe you." Iris furrowed her brow as she next sniffed Ash. She squatted and sniffed Ash's groin area, freaking the trainer and Pikachu to shield the part.

"Georgia, slow down!" he shrieked. Iris gasped to Georgia's inappropriate nosing. Georgia never became bothered by her portion of investigation.

"I'm closing in." Lastly, she sniffed around Nowi. A scent entered her nose and then her mind. "I found it!" Iris and the boys stood dumbfounded by Georgia's discovery. Something didn't feel right for anyone for plenty of reasons.

"Georgia, Nowi doesn't have a Pokémon, let alone a Dragon-Type," Cilan reminded. "We understand that you're a Dragon Buster..." Georgia turned to Cilan, a great question on her mind.

"Then perhaps you can explain the unusual scent of dragon on this pointy-eared girl?" To Nowi, her secret couldn't hide from Georgia and now had no choice but to come clean about herself.

"Looks like I need to admit who I am and where I'm from," she shrugged before digging in her skirt to pull out the Dragon Stones. "Take a look at this." She flicked the stone to Georgia who saw the head of a dragon marked on it. Georgia seemed intrigued by the item.

"That's pretty cool." Finally, Nowi confessed.

"In truth, I'm a manakete… I turn into a dragon." Gasps from Iris and the boys could be heard from the other side of the large room. Nowi came clean about her identity but wasn't aware of others coming to bail her out of this world. Unbeknown to anyone, watching eyes and ears heard the confession.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Ash Manaketes Up

_Chapter 5: Ash Manaketes Up_

* * *

Nowi stepped out of the building hosting a convention for Pokémon Connoisseurs with her new friends and perhaps a bane of her life. She recently revealed herself as the manakete in front of the one who she wanted to protect. Unfortunately for her, the confession reached the ears of Team Rocket. Much to their surprise and chagrin, the news opened a discussion. "So that little green-haired twerpette was that dragon that barbequed our digger?" growled Jessie.

"Guess it's true what they say," the ice-violet-haired wanted to quote. "Big surprises come in small packages." They removed the binoculars from their faces.

"Luckily, we've gots something to tame dat dragon, courtesy of our boss," Meowth explained the plan. Unfortunately for Team Rocket, they had no clue of Nowi's backup coming. By a bench and surrounded along Georgia, Nowi sat down to confess her story.

"As you may know, I'm a manakete, a species known to transform into a dragon," she started. "I've lived for about a thousand years before an army from Pledgia entered my home in the mountains, killed my mom and kidnapped me. Because of my rare species, they took me back and enslaved me to be their entertainment. That's when I got help from a sellsword who slew the soldiers and bailed me out of there and we've been on the run until Chrom, Robin and their army recruited us to stop Mad King Gangrel from his bloodbath. Our commitment never swayed even after the exalt's death by the Mad King's hands, and soon the new lord defeated the Mad King. It's been about a year since his passing, Chrom has married a Pegasus Knight in Sumia, and we're on the cusp of the first anniversary of our country's independence. I ran from undead soldiers known as Risen and soon found myself surrounded by Pokémon." Unbeknown to Ash, Iris, Cilan and Georgia, Nowi used her dragon powers to blow out a machine by Team Rocket. "When I saw a picture of Ash, I… I kinda fell for him." Ash gasped a little from the confession.

"You saw a photo of Ash and fell in love?" scoffed Iris. "For someone who's lived a millennium, that behavior is meant for a little kid!" Nowi hissed but Georgia provided backup.

"Then again, Iris will never know what love is with that attitude detrimental to a little kid," she burned. Iris turned around with an anger to boil an egg.

"Well, little kids don't know when to shut up!" The noise from the girls brought Marth, Panne and Gregor to the scene which they found their friend.

"Nowi!" discovered Gregor as they hid behind some trees.

"I need to trust Lord Chrom more often, especially with the Fell Dragon looming," Marth promised herself. "Though, what is she doing with those kids?"

"More importantly, what is that manakete doing with that boy in the red helmet?" asked Panne. Gregor had a suggestion in mind.

"No offend, but use big ears," he pointed out. Panne groaned at Gregor's idea.

"You man-spawn..." She lifted her ears as Ash wrapped his arm around Nowi.

"Listen, a friend of Pokémon is a friend in my book," he smiled. "Seeing how concerned that Lillipup, Patrat and Sewaddle were to you, I think it was fate that you found this place and found us." Nowi looked at Ash with some awe.

"Ash is right, Nowi," Iris agreed.

"A delightful recipe perfected by miles of travel," Cilan hummed. Nowi looked dumbfounded with his words.

"You Connoisseurs are weird," she said. The kids and Pokémon laughed. However, the laughs were cut short when a balloon shaped like Meowth's head flew overhead. Axew peered out of Iris' hair and alerted trouble. All looked up to find the balloon.

"Now who are these bozos?" wondered Georgia. In the basket, Jessie sneered down at the kids.

"Who are these bozos, a twerpish question indeed," she taunted. That's when she realized her boys were quiet. "Ahem! The motto!"

"Youse calling us bozos?" repeated Meowth.

"When the wrong question is brought up, it makes us look like idiots when we do the motto," the ice-violet-haired pointed out. This frustrated Jessie.

"Of all the times for you to wuss out on our tradition..." she mulled. "Might as well use our plan." All three in the balloon threw cubes down at the group. Once they landed, they exploded into clouds of smoke, forcing all to cover their mouths. The coughing did give way to their locations as two transparent cubes arisen from the cloud, Pikachu and Nowi in each one.

"Help!" screamed Nowi. Pikachu also squeaked in need of assistance.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash. "Nowi!" The cubes were now beneath the balloon, suspended in midair. Those in the bushes couldn't wait any longer.

"We gotta save those two!" ordered Marth. "Gregor, here! The Levin Sword!" Marth handed Gregor a sword that was in zig-zags.

"Gregor knows what to do!" he nodded.

"Panne, Tanguel Kick!" Panne nodded before bringing out a purple stone before she jumped back and summoned a small boulder. In a few seconds, she emerged as a giant rabbit. Marth and Gregor nodded before they set up the plan.

"Let those two down now!" demanded Ash.

"Please!" scoffed Jessie. "Now that we know how our machine got destroyed yesterday, we want to use her powers to empower Team Rocket!"

"Not to mention the value of your Pikachu!" added the ice-violet-haired.

"Now let's see youse twerps shock us!" taunted Meowth. No one had any clue to more Ylisse Shepards springing their rescue.

"Levin Sword!" shouted Gregor. A beam of lightning shot from the bushes before blasting Team Rocket. After the beam passed, Team Rocket a little charbroiled.

"You just happened to open your big Meowth and tell them to shock us," Jessie mocked while stunned. Apparently, they weren't the only ones.

"Was that Thunder?" guessed Ash. This became the start. Propelled, Marth flew from Panne's kick up to the balloon.

"Look at that!" shouted Iris. Marth drew out a sword which near the hilt revealed a hole down the middle.

"Falchion Strike!" she yelled. She swiped with her sword which clipped both cubes. It's enough as the cubes broke. However, being so high had both captives falling, but Marth snared Pikachu.

"Oh no!" screamed Nowi. Ash sprinted to catch the manakete.

"Nowi!" he yelled upward. Marth fell in some trees but stuck the landing as she slid down the bark. Ash reached Nowi and caught her with a sliding snag while Gregor riding Panne arrived. "Gotcha!" Once settled, Nowi hugged her receiver.

"Nowi okay?" asked Gregor.

"Yeah, thank goodness." Satisfied, Panne and Gregor huddled with the other kids. Elsewhere, Pikachu looked up at his rescuer.

"You're not hurt, are you?" she asked. Pikachu shook his head, a great relief to the Hero-King. "My real name… is Lucina. Don't tell anyone else this, okay?" Pikachu flashed a peace sign with two of his fingers to the renamed woman. "Good. Let's get back with the rest." Pikachu leaped on Lucina's shoulder before she dashed back to find Team Rocket recovered. Their balloon landed and the three hopped out of the basket.

"Alright, I guess we need to do this the old fashion way," Jessie growled before turning to her ice-violet-haired partner. "James?"

"Got it, Jessie," he replied as he threw a ball. "Go, Amoonguss!" The red/white ball popped open and out came a rather large white mushroom with a red/white cap on its head and arms. It did have a face as well.

"Frillish, you're up!" Jessie threw a similar ball which also opened to reveal a rather large pink jellyfish with a small head that had red eyes.

" _Such strange creatures,"_ Panne surveyed.

"You're one to talk," Georgia murmured.

" _You should be careful, man-spawn!"_ Ash looked up and saw Team Rocket's Pokémon. He rolled on his feet before carrying Nowi back to safety.

"Georgia, help us out!" he called. Georgia grinned as she readied a ball of her own.

"I've been feeling rather bored lately," she snickered. "About time I let out some action. Vanilluxe, let's go!" She threw her ball which opened and revealed conjoined giant vanilla ice cream cones with faces. The cones were actually icicles. Axew took one peek and hid from the twin cones. Ash also grabbed a ball. He wanted to side with Georgia.

"You might need a partner," he offered. "It's not like Iris would work with you."

"Hey!" snapped Iris. Georgia nodded, bumping fists along the way.

"I'm willing to try it once," she accepted as Lucina and Pikachu rejoined the rest. Ash tossed his ball releasing Pignite, much to the others' gasp and chagrin.

"Not Pignite!" gawked Iris. Gregor didn't think Ash did anything bad.

"It's problem?" he wondered.

"Pignite's a Fire and Fighting-Type Pokémon," Cilan explained. "Both are disadvantages against Jessie's Frillish who's a Water and Ghost-Type." Panne reverted back to herself during the study, her ears catching the lesson.

"Either this man-spawn is a fool or a tactical genius," she hummed. "Guess this should tell the tale."

"Frillish, use Bubble Beam!" commanded Jessie. Frillish blew bubbles in a heavy stream.

"Vanilluxe, Icy Wind!" ordered Georgia. Vanilluxe blew a gust of ice and snow, freezing the bubbles.

"Pignite, use Brick Break on the frozen bubbles!" pointed Ash. Pignite raced in and chopped the bubbles, sending shards of ice back at the other two Pokémon. Frillish bobbed and weaved through the shards but Amoonguss suffered a pelting.

"Fight back, Amoonguss!" cried James. "Use Stun Spore!" Amoonguss fired a mist of orange at the two, but Georgia seemed ready for the attack.

"Another Icy Wind!" demanded Georgia. Vanilluxe blew another Icy Wind, dissipating the Stun Spore and trapping Amoonguss.

"Frillish, block that Icy Wind!" asked Jessie. Frillish moved in front of her Pokémon partner, absorbing the Icy Wind.

"Thanks, Jessie!" teased Ash. Jessie blinked to the mocked compliment. "Pignite, get behind Frillish!" Obeying, Pignite leaped to the other side of Vanilluxe. "Now use Fire Pledge!" Pignite punched the ground before pillars of fire shot from said ground, surrounding the two in a combined pillar of fire and ice. Blue sparks flickered from the pillar as Vanilluxe stopped its wind. A burst of energy ruptured and both Frillish and Amoonguss were encased in ice. Those by Ash looked on in intrigue. Team Rocket gasped in horror.

"I don't mind frozen mushrooms but still..." Lucina irked.

"He may be around Donnel's age but he's got the tactical eyes of Robin," Panne compared.

"Gods, Gregor not fast in head as boy," Gregor admitted.

"Nor that lucky," Iris downplayed. "It's like his battle against Cilan choosing Oshawott over Pansage." Cilan remembered the mentioned moment.

"But that's what makes Ash such a Pokémon trainer," he reasoned.

"He's so unreal that I want to stay here with him!" cheered Nowi. Gregor gulped to Nowi's burst of joy.

"Gods, Nowi!" he jumped. "You've been with boy for day!" Pignite charged at the cube while inflamed and smashed into it. Amoonguss and Frillish were down but back with the rest.

"You guys are even more pathetic than Iris and that takes a lot to do," Georgia scoffed. Iris giggled at her rival's belittling of Team Rocket. Instead of settling with a loss, Jessie's anger prompted her to pull a bazooka.

"You twerps should just listen to your elders!" she scowled as she aimed. James and Meowth backed away from her new rage. Jessie wouldn't be able to use the bazooka when Gregor drew a blade and slashed twice as he passed her. He sheathed a sword before the bazooka split in half, destroyed before he could use it.

"Hag's hair stunt redhead thought," Gregor snickered before the back of Jessie's hair fell from him. "Gregor take liberty of shearing some." James and Meowth were about to retreat for good as Jessie noticed her hair removed. She screamed from the top of her lungs before turning to the male redhead. He didn't flinch as Jessie cocked back a claw.

"You will pay!" She got within reach… only for Gregor to smash her to the ground with an overhand punch.

"You sleep. Wake up with happy thoughts." The kids cringed at Gregor's power, as well as a few other things.

"So who's going to tell him that human-to-human violence is illegal in this world?" stuttered Iris.

"Forget it!" waived off Cilan. "I don't wanna end up in that pile!" Surprisingly, Jessie was still conscious from her moaning as Lucina, Pikachu and Nowi approached, her Falchion in hand.

"Gregor, hoist her," she requested. Gregor pulled a bloodied-face Jessie by the underarms as a still seething Jessie glanced at the formerly-known Hero-King. "My kingdom will not tolerate actions against children. Should I hear anymore of this, pray to your gods for mercy." The threat did little to irk Jessie.

"I don't care if you're gods yourself, I will take the twerp's Pikachu," she growled as she tried to free herself from Gregor's grip. "This isn't the end!" Lucina drew her Falchion and pointed it at her throat. The blade so close to her neck, she seemed to lose all sense of anger.

"I say when it ends… and it ends now. Do you understand?" Jessie couldn't fight back now with her life in Lucina's hands. In her moment of fear, she finally relented.

"I'm not going to pursue the twerps again." Lucina may have her word, nodding to Gregor to release her.

"Leave… now!" The blazing fire in her eyes told Jessie that Lucina wasn't fooling around. Jessie and James recalled their Pokémon and soon left, running from potential death.

"Team Rocket's running for our lives!" they shouted as they ran off. Lucina sheathed her blade, satisfied with the turnout. She turned to Ash, pleased with the result.

"You should be safe." The trainers came over to Lucina, even though they didn't know who she was.

"So you're Nowi's friends, I take it?" asked Ash. Gregor laughed at the curiosity.

"Great friends of Nowi, and protectors of Ylisse," he informed. "But maybe protection of Nowi should be yours." Ash nervously giggled to what sounded like a joke.

"I may be a Dragon Buster, but I'm more after Dragon-Type Pokémon, not manaketes or dragons," Georgia clarified. "Nowi is someone I can leave alone." As Nowi introduced her Shepard friends to Ash, soon enough… she'll be heading back to the castle. She doesn't want to leave Ash but…

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED…

(Yep, for those who haven't played Fire Emblem: Awakening, I'll spoil a plot. "Marth" is Lucina, Chrom's daughter who reveals herself two years after Gangrel's death. That's why this takes place ONE year.)


	6. Dragon His Family

_Chapter 6/Final: Dragon His Family_

* * *

Team Rocket may not be after Ash's Pikachu or Nowi after Lucina, Gregor and Panne stormed the trio. They met up with Ash's group in which Lucina petted Iris' Axew. "You have wonderful creatures," she praised. "Especially Pikachu." His name complimented, Pikachu squeaked happily.

"I believe Pikachu's saying 'Thank you', Marth," Cilan tried to translate. Lucina only told her real name to Pikachu. No one else.

"Mice nothing more than mice in Ylisse," Gregor compared. "Pikachu not normal mouse." Lucina laughed to the praises.

"Anyway, I wanted to apologize," she reverted. "I wouldn't have imagine finding a rift, let alone have our manakete causing problems." Ash shook his head.

"Nowi was great to have around," he replied with a smile. "She's a great friend, even if she's a dragon." Lucina snickered to the words.

"I suppose there are some man-spawn worthy of having for having as allies," Panne shrugged. Knowing that Lucina and her group came for Nowi, there was only one more place to go: back to the castle in Ylisse.

"So I suppose that now you have Nowi back," Iris pointed out. "You'll be heading back home?"

"That is plan," Gregor confirmed. So soon as Nowi found the Pokémon world, her time became short.

"And just when I said that I've fallen for him..." she mulled. It felt shameful for Nowi who fell for the boy who caught her heart, less her falling body.

"Nowi..." Ash hushed. He came over and hugged the manakete.

"Ash..." She reached her head in for one last kiss.

"I'm not sure about asking how many dragons have fallen for humans," Georgia coughed. "At least it's a transforming dragon and not a Dragon Girl." Iris heard the mocking, her anger greatly noticed.

"Like heck that I'd fall for a little kid," she retorted. This did leave Georgia with a whimsical comeback while shrugging her shoulders.

"So it isn't always true what they say. Iris seems to be getting younger everyday." Iris steamed at the upsetting snap.

"Listen to you!" Not willing to see the girls fighting as Ash and Nowi separated their faces, Gregor came between Iris and Georgia.

"Girls, no fighting!" he attempted peacemaking. "Other men in world for each!" The sellsword may have prevented more bloodshed like when most of Jessie's hair got sliced. The hair, driven by Gregor's sword, began blowing follicle by follicle in the gentle breeze. Iris and Georgia darted their heads away from seeing each other. "Women hard to understand. Heh!" While knowing the group needed to return to Ylisse, a concern weighed on what may occur.

"Is there trouble around Ylisse?" asked Ash.

"There is," Lucina replied. "I'm afraid the Fell Dragon, Grima, will rise from his sleep before long. If Lord Chrom and Ylisse falls, Grima may use the awakened power to cross over to this world and create ruins of despair." A scary thought toward a future. Ash knew Nowi could play a key role in stopping the Fell Dragon.

"You'll need all the support possible. If Nowi can help fend off this Grima, please make sure she's okay." Lucina smiled, offering a hand to shake. A ruse. Lucina grabbed Ash's hand before giving him a hug.

"I promise to return her safely." Lucina broke her hug while Nowi dug the stone from her pocket and gave it to Iris.

"Your Dragon Stone?" she gasped. "But don't you need it back home?"

"I've actually got another Dragon Stone so I'm prepared for anything," Nowi reassured. "From a manakete to a Dragon Trainer." Both with smiles shook hands, knowing that Iris held a memento from their encounter. After that, Gregor led the Shepards away, back to wince they entered the Pokémon world. Pikachu and Axew waived a fond farewell to their Shepard friends. An hour later, they entered the forest. Around here, they found the machine's remains of when Nowi first arrived.

"Team Rocket's trap when I used the stone to stop them," she recalled. "Also took out their jet packs they used to escape." Panne looked on, bemused to the power her little friend.

"You must not have wanted those men-spawn to get the advantage on the boy," she believed.

"Not to mention how I found out about my favorite human." Lucina snickered again, the clues connecting on Ash and Nowi's encounter together. Gregor became a little concern for her thoughts on him.

"What about Gregor?" he asked.

"Don't worry, Gregor. You're still a great friend. I just want Ash as a husband." Lucina and Panne understood Nowi's wishes, though Panne thought of another Shepard within Ylisse.

"Don't you think Donnel might be upset about this?" she wondered.

"Don? Well, there's Olivia and Cordelia… even Maribelle..."

"Okay, Nowi!" laughed Lucina. "Let's get back to celebrate Ylisse's independence." They found the rift which brought them from the forest once filled with Risen. Entering, they returned to their land which the crises involving Chrom's kingdom would be coming. Hours after they departed from Ash and his gang, the manakete and her friends arrived at Ylisse's castle where Chrom and Sumia greeted Nowi back home.

"Thank the gods for your safe return, Nowi," Chrom welcomed as the two hugged. Sumia also hugged the manakete.

"I'm sorry for making everyone worry," she apologized. Sumia and Chrom forgave Nowi with sincere smiles before the young lord turned to her escort.

"Marth, Gregor, Panne… good work."

"You're welcome, Milord," Panne spoke for the rest. Night fell, and Nowi was back on the roof overlooking the village as she did prior to finding Ash. Sumia came to the roof and found her ageless friend at the usual perch.

"From what I heard from Panne and Gregor, you've found a boy and fell in love," she mentioned. Nowi turned to Sumia, a white feather still in her hair.

"What, am I not suppose to because of who or what I am?" she questioned.

"Not at all! I'm happy that you found someone . They may help in the future." Nowi doubted Sumia's wish, but kept a smile regardless. One day to her, she and Ash would reunite.

* * *

 _(Four months later…/Pallet Town, Kanto)_

A quiet town, hidden among hills. Nothing stood out special except for a windmill on a hillside next to a large structure. Four figures stood at the top of one hill. Two were Ash and Pikachu. The other two were a grown woman and a yellow lizard with huge ears. The bright brunette-haired woman wore gray pants and a magenta shirt with black shoulders. "Here we are, Alexa!" announced Ash. "Pallet Town, my home!" The new woman, Alexa, stepped forward to see the landscape of the town Ash resided in.

"Breathtaking!" she awed. "So the great Ash Ketchum hails from here? Also home to the great Professor Oak? Remarkable!" The yellow lizard hopped on Alexa's head to get a better look at the town. "Helioptile, what say you?" Helioptile didn't think to fondly to the view overlooking the town as they proceeded toward it.

"Too bad Cilan and Iris had to go elsewhere. Maybe Cilan will set up shop in Hoenn after passing his evaluation… and receiving S-Class ranking. Perhaps Burgundy could work for him."

"Didn't you also say that Burgundy destroyed a few benches after learning of Cilan's passing?"

"She hated Cilan with a passion and that's what clouded her judgment." Ash soon refocused on the task at hand. "I can't wait to see how my Pokémon are doing." Pikachu also wanted to see the Pokémon Ash had, but Alexa stopped.

"Ash, aren't you forgetting something?" Ash stopped and turned to Alexa, unsure of her meaning.

"Not really." Alexa started to feel somewhat irritated with his slow thought process.

"Ash Ketchum! What about your family?" Ash jumped at Alexa's snapping of his name. "Don't you think your mom should come first before your Pokémon?" Though trusting his master, Pikachu also wanted to see his mother. Ash couldn't argue with Alexa or his prized Pokémon.

"If Pikachu wants to see Mom, I guess there's nothing I can say to change his mind." The group reached a white house with a porch behind a fence. Just as Ash reached for the door to the fence…

"Ash!" cried a familiar voice. The door opened and out came Nowi and a brunette woman in a pink blouse over a yellow undershirt and skinny jeans. Nowi, now wearing similar clothes to the brunette with a green blouse and white undershirt, hugged Ash and gave him a welcoming kiss. "I suppose… welcome home!" Ash wrapped his arms around her, though bemused at her appearance.

"I thought you went back to Ylisse!"

"I did… and boy, I've got a surprise for you!" The new brunette crossed her arms in trying to understand the situation.

"Son, when were you going to tell me that I'm a grandmother?" she asked with a smug look. Ash blinked, greatly befuddled with her claim.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" he questioned. Nowi broke from the hug and turned to the mother.

"Let me show you. Nah? Ashley?" The call brought out two girls about the same age and height of Ash. One was a raven-haired girl with the same ears as Nowi. She wore a white gown with the skirt reaching her knees which her red knee-high boots covered the rest of her legs. The other looked the spitting image of Ash aside from the green hair, white t-shirt and small bumps on her chest. The new green-haired dove onto Ash with a happy squeal.

"Pops!" she cheered as she wrapped her arms around Ash and Nowi. The new raven-haired watched with a smile but nothing to egregious.

"Father..." she muttered to Ash. The green-haired peeled herself off while Ash and Pikachu looked more confused than ever.

"Hold on a second!" he gasped. "Someone clear this up? When did I have kids? I'm still… I mean..." The raven-haired stepped up to clarify the confusion.

"Ashley and I actually came from the future, Father." The green-haired, known now as Ashley, nodded. This confirmed the raven-haired was Nah.

"You and Mom adored us, even when Grima threatened to take us out," Ashley explained. Learning that their mother was Nowi, Ash had a conclusion to what the two were.

"So you're both manaketes, I take it?" he guessed.

"Uh… _Half-_ manaketes, actually," Nah corrected. Alexa and Helioptile chuckled at the new girls.

"Well, this developed rather quickly," she laughed. Ashley now took stock of the Pokémon on her future father's shoulder.

"You must be Pop's Pikachu that he told me about," she awed as she plucked him from his perch. "No wonder you're his favorite Pokémon. You're so adorable!" Pikachu ate up the admiration from his master's future daughter. Nowi looked around to find the other two with no success.

"Ash, where's Iris and Cilan?" she asked her soon-to-be husband.

"Iris left for Blackthorn City to learn from the Gym Leader Clair about Dragon-Type Pokémon," he explained. "Cilan's on his way to a fishing competition in the Hoenn Region. I believe that since he's an S-Class Connoisseur, he may set up a shop in that region from what he told me about his plans." Nowi became a little sad that she missed her chance of seeing the two again.

"That sucks. I would've wanted to see them again." Nah patted Nowi's shoulder as comfort.

"Don't fret, mother," she reasoned.

"Yeah, there's a chance you may see them again," Ash's mother supported. Watching Nah and Ashley being acquainted with each other brought smiles to Ash and Alexa.

"Seems that I have a pair of awesome daughters to raise," he chortled.

"Sure does," Alexa agreed. "Talk about a pair of bottomless stomachs if they take after their dad's eating habits." The point jolted Ash's head down from an embarrassing stat.

"Alexa, I'm not that bad!" That's when the other girls turned to the other female that tagged along with Ash.

"I'm sorry but… who are you?" the mother, or grandmother to Ash's dragon daughters, wondered. Alexa realized the spotlight on her.

"I'm Alexa," she introduced herself. "I'm a Pokémon Journalist from the Kalos Region. This is one of my Pokémon, Helioptile." Ash's mother welcomed Alexa with a handshake.

"I'm Delia Ketchum, Ash's mom. Probably also the grandmother to Nah and Ashley." The kids chuckled to the added information. "I'm sure Ash would like to see his Pokémon that are at Professor Oak's ranch." This grew interest with Ashley.

"Pops, can we see the Pokémon you have?" she asked.

"You bet!" the "pops" nodded. However, before they could begin their voyage to the professor's house, Meowth's balloon emerged from the hills which Helioptile and Pikachu alerted. Much to Ash's and Nowi's chagrin…

"Prepare for trouble, citizens of Pallet Town!" warned Jessie. She and her partners sat in the basket.

"Make it double, and listen to our sound!" added James.

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our growing nation..."

"To denounce-"

"Blah, blah, blah!" interrupted Ashley. "That's the lamest thing I've heard since returning to this time. Ever heard of stealth? Even Lon'qu was better at the quick attack over doing the motto." Jessie quickly became angered at Ashley's disrespect.

"Hey, didn't your mother ever tell you not to interrupt someone when they're talking?!"

"Well, not only did she, but encouraged it, too." Jessie balked at a reply to Ash's daughter. Ashley pulled a dragon stone from her pocket, as did Nah and Nowi. "Shall we?"

"It's gonna take a family effort to stop Team Dumb-Bet!" mocked Nowi. Flower buds popped from the ground and in a few seconds, the girls became dragons. Nah and Ashley's dragon forms mirrored Nowi's but Nah's was red and Ashley's black. Team Rocket gawked, scared of the dragons flying up to them. Ash rode on Nowi while Pikachu hopped on Ashley.

"Not again!" shrieked Meowth. To eye level, Ash grinned on the outcome.

"Still not learning your lesson," he shook his head. "My family will make sure it's burned in your brains… or your whole body for instance." The three dragons spat massive fireballs which united and increased to a huge size. KABOOM! The giant ball of fire turned the balloon to nothing more than cinders. Team Rocket propelled away from the scene, James wondering if what Ash said was true.

"Did the twerp declare those dragons as his family?" he gawked.

"Dat would explain why he can be rather fearsome in battle!" the cat Pokémon believed. Regardless of opinions, there wasn't anything the trio could do but fly toward the horizon.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they shouted while leaving. The dragons returned to earth and transformed back to their normal forms with impressed adults. Ash and Pikachu embraced the girls, knowing how strong they are.

"That's a family statement!" he cheered. Delia and Alexa could only wonder how Ash would be as a father. From his face about his dragon daughters, he couldn't be more proud. They'll head off to the ranch… as a new family.

* * *

THE END


End file.
